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Maribel Pérez Linares, 33 years old, was brutally murdered by her ex-partner on June 17 in the batey La Lima, municipality of Nueva Paz, province of Mayabeque, as confirmed by the Alas Tensas Gender Observatory (OGAT) through community sources.
The crime did not claim a single life: Maribel's current partner was also attacked with a knife during the assault and later died in the hospital where they were fighting for survival, an incident that OGAT described as an additional episode of femicide violence.
The victim left behind two minor children.
With this case, Cuba has recorded 35 confirmed femicides in 2026, according to the OGAT count, which also documents 19 attempted femicides and two murders of men in the context of femicide violence.
June has become one of the deadliest months of the year: in its first 17 days, at least five femicides were confirmed.
Maribel's case is the fifth one of the month.
It was preceded by that of Daisi María Isaac Brito, 56 years old, who disappeared on the night of May 8 and her body was found in an empty lot the following day, with mutilations, in San Francisco de Paula, San Miguel del Padrón, Havana; and by the case of Arnelys Nancy Vega González, 25 years old, murdered by her partner in Centro Habana on June 7.
The figure of 34 femicides - which just increased to 25 with the murder in Nueva Paz - in just six months, represented a 112.5% increase compared to the same period in 2025, when OGAT had documented 16 cases by the same date, according to data from the specialist Yanelys Núñez to Martí Noticias.
The pattern repeats with brutal consistency: in 2025, 83.3% of femicides were committed by partners or ex-partners, 62.5% occurred in the victim's home, and 64.6% were carried out with a sharp weapon.
The case of Maribel mirrors that profile point by point.
OGAT warns that the actual figures are likely higher, as Cuba is a country with limited connectivity and blackouts that hinder the reporting and recording of crimes.
The Cuban regime does not publish accessible official statistics on femicides and maintains an internal record that is not available to the public or independent organizations.
Feminicide is also not classified as an autonomous crime in the Cuban Penal Code effective since November 2022; it is listed only as an aggravating factor in Article 345.2, with penalties ranging from 20 to 30 years, life imprisonment, or death.
In May 2022, the National Assembly rejected an amendment to classify it as an independent offense. Cuba also lacks a comprehensive law on gender violence and institutional shelters for women at risk.
Since April 16, 2026, OGAT has become practically the only active source of systematic documentation, following the closure of the Femicide Observatory of "Yo Sí Te Creo en Cuba" due to emotional exhaustion, lack of resources, and repression. Between 2019 and 2025, both organizations jointly documented 315 femicides.
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